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Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2021) | Viewed by 44848

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Dr. Federico Dell’Anna

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Guest Editor

Interuniversity Department of Regional Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino, Viale Mattioli 39, Turin, Italy
Interests: sustainability; decision support systems; sustainable development; environmental impact assessment; economic appraisal; planning evaluation; econometric analysis; energy economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Marta Dell’Ovo

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Guest Editor

Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, via Ponzio 31, Milan, 20133, Italy
Interests: economic evaluation; decision-making; environmental impact evaluation; real estate appraisal; ecosystem services; policy analysis; spatial analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new Special Issue on the exploration of new values generated by buildings and urban adaptive reuse.

Adaptive reuse is defined as “a process that changes a disused or ineffective item into a new item that can be used for a different purpose” (Department of Environment and Heritage, 2004).

Through our recent experiences in urban redevelopment, it has emerged that the traditional forms no longer work, which means that we need to rethink and reinvent the existing urban renewal processes. In several cities, the number of underused or vacant buildings is increasing at an alarming rate, which has a negative impact on the urban context under several dimensions. More generally, adaptive reuse is a multi-dimensional problem that requires the inclusion of stakeholders’ opinion aided by decision support systems. In this perspective, abandoned buildings and places can be considered as opportunities to establish new functions aiming to trigger economic, environmental, and social regeneration.

In this context, the concept of reuse is becoming more and more important. As an example, the social and technological changes that have characterized our recent decades have significantly altered the productive national system, and today, there are thousands of cultural assets of architectural quality that constitute a real resource for the territory. In addition, redevelopment interventions must be able to change the characteristics of a space that has lost its original function in relation to the mutation of the temporal and social context. In this sense, unexpected events can lead to innovative visions for existing buildings and places to respond to new necessities. In fact, since the context experiences a continuous transformation over time current emergency situations require a rapid response, the adaptive reuse project must look beyond transformations themselves, in terms of change of use. Indeed, projects must be based on sustainable features, but also on innovation, resilience, and flexibility principles.

Given these premises, adaptive reuse could be the answer to both preserving memory and generating new values looking at a more holistic vision, i.e., integrating social, economic, environmental, urban, and political policies in agreement with the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, 2015).

The Special Issue would like to address the different sides of adaptive reuse:

Built environment: Cultural heritage vision changes from an asset to be conserved to capital to be enhanced and reused (SDG 7, SDG 11);
Urban planning: Regeneration processes configuring the transversal interconnections between urban and territorial heritage, as cities are becoming one of the main testing workbenches for new solutions for buildings and places that aim to improve environmental quality at the local and global level (SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 15);
Urban policies: Regeneration strategies requiring new game rules at different multilevel governance to remove barriers in order to accelerate territorial regeneration and cultural and social innovation (SDG 13, SDG 17);
Economy: New business models, based on the circular economy, needing to overcome the traditional model of the linear economy in order to meet the new sustainable objectives (SDG 1, SDG 8);
Society: People's involvement in transformation processes plays an important role in promoting community values. Developing community-based approaches can support strategies in influencing social interaction, change of attitude, lifestyle and behaviour (SDG 3, SDG 8).

All contributions that address adaptive reuse values, and not necessarily limited to the list above, are welcome.

Dr. Federico Dell’Anna
Dr. Marta Dell’Ovo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Adaptive reuse
Urban policy
Sustainability
Socioeconomic value
Urban regeneration
Urban planning
Community-based approach
Circular economy
Cultural asset
Adaptive resilience
Decision support system
Assessment and evaluation
Multicriteria Decision Aiding

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 61822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Re-Thinking Detroit: A Multicriteria-Based Approach for Adaptive Reuse for the Corktown District

by Marta Bottero, Giulia Datola, Daniele Fazzari and Roberta Ingaramo

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8343; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148343 - 07 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1590

Abstract

The paper addresses the paradigm of adaptive reuse with a specific focus on issues related to the evaluation and the decision-making processes in this context. In more detail, this paper aims at recognising the main gaps that concern the evaluation process associated with adaptive reuse and providing some points of reflection and a preliminary methodological proposal to evaluate transformation scenarios related to adaptive reuse, through a multidimensional and multi-objective perspective. According to these purposes, this paper describes the implementation of the pillars of adaptive reuse to re-think the Corktown District of the city of Detroit, underlying through a real case study the complexity, the multidimensionality, and the multi-objective challenges of this concept, when implemented in urban planning and the revitalization of historic buildings. According to this scenario, the present paper focuses on issues related to managing the complexity and the multidimensionality of the decision process, under the analysis and evaluation of alternative adaptive-reuse strategies. This research, thus, proposes the application of the Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) technique, based on the Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT), to evaluate and compare different strategic scenarios to re-think the Corktown District of the city of Detroit, according to the principles of adaptive reuse. The final result is a multidimensional evaluation that provides a final ranking of the different proposed alternatives, in order to support the decision-making to select the most suitable transformative scenario, according to the initial purposes of the project. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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18 pages, 2293 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adaptive Reuse of Social and Healthcare Structures: The Case Study as a Research Strategy

by Marco Gola, Marta Dell’Ovo, Stefano Scalone and Stefano Capolongo

Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4712; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084712 - 14 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3052

Abstract

The regeneration and reuse of abandoned healthcare facilities represent one of the most complex issues in the broader field of disused public architectural heritage and its valorization. The leading causes of an elevated quantity of abandoned hospitals are the lack of resilience of these structures, as well as the evolution of the regulatory framework used to increase the quality standards of the National Health System and the constant changes caused by medical discoveries. In addition, the transfer to a new building typically does not involve consideration of the future of the dismissed facility with a lack of a strategic view for its regeneration, thus causing its progressive degradation. Although their large dimensions and unbuilt areas make recovery plans complex, the re-functionalization of these facilities represents an excellent opportunity for social and economic development, as several case studies demonstrate. This paper selects some useful examples of the reconversion and reuse of disused social and healthcare buildings through an accurate comparison that highlights the importance of the topic and the possible actions to be taken into consideration. Although this research focuses on a limited number of case studies, the paper gives rise to some strategies that can be applied to several current cases of disused buildings that could be used to support Decision Makers (DMs) from different countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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22 pages, 4224 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Financial Sustainability of Cultural Heritage Reuse Projects: An Integrated Approach for the Historical Rural Landscape

by Marco Rossitti, Alessandra Oppio and Francesca Torrieri

Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13130; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313130 - 26 Nov 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2651

Abstract

In the last decades, the growing concern about land consumption, together with the awareness about cultural heritage’s key role for sustainable development, has led to greater attention to cultural property reuse as a conscious process of new values production. However, decisions about heritage bring a high degree of complexity, related to the need to preserve properties’ values and fulfill protection legislation, thus bringing high cost, which discourages public and private investments for reuse interventions. In this context, it becomes urgent to support reuse decisions through proper evaluation methodologies that, dealing with the complexity of interests at stake, allow individuals to assess the financial sustainability of conscious cultural heritage reuse projects. For these reasons, the paper proposes a methodological framework that, grounded on the recognition of cultural properties’ values and their possible integration in the local economic system, assesses reuse projects’ financial sustainability. This methodology’s application is discussed through a case study, represented by a project for a historical rural landscape in Pantelleria island. The application to the case study allows us to discuss the role of the proposed evaluation framework in supporting and promoting cultural heritage reuse and its possible room for improvement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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23 pages, 6115 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Regenerating Places outside the Metropolis. A Reading of Three Global Art-Related Processes and Development Trajectories

by Ludovico Centis and Ezio Micelli

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12359; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212359 - 09 Nov 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1996

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to reflect on the intersection of two relevant phenomena that unfolded in recent decades in all the most industrialized countries and economies—from the United States to Europe and Japan—as the shrinkage of vast urban and rural areas and the increasing role of culture as a driver for economic growth and social development. The attention is focused on the role of art as one of the main engines of territorial regeneration. Three case studies—Verzegnis in Italy, the Seto Islands in Japan, Marfa in the United States—have been selected to open a reflection on the relation between culture, art and regeneration on a global scale. To measure these effects, the research intertwined field explorations, access to primary and secondary texts, an original mapping of the sites and a series of targeted interviews through an extensive questionnaire. The research addresses the role played by art and culture both in the reuse of abandoned buildings and spaces and in the activation, involvement and self-empowerment of the inhabitants. The aim is not the definition of an immediately generalizable model but to reach the first synthesis, identifying general characters and opening future research paths that engage with the theoretical and practical implementation of politics related to heritage, culture and innovative regeneration processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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25 pages, 8668 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reshaping the Gdańsk Shipyard—The Birthplace of the Solidarity Movement. The Complexity of Adaptive Reuse in the Heritage Context

by Piotr Lorens and Łukasz Bugalski

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7183; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137183 - 26 Jun 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3652

Abstract

The Gdańsk Shipyard—the birthplace of the Solidarity movement—is host to a unique example of a multi-layered brownfield redevelopment project, an area that is burdened by a complex history, overlapping heritage, and multiple memories. These circumstances require an integrated yet differentiated approach to the site’s heritage and make the creation of one homogeneous narration of its future impossible. At the same time, the size of the area, as well as its location within Gdańsk city centre, has meant that its future has been the subject of numerous discussions and speculations conducted over the last 20 years—starting from the creation of a large-scale open-air museum and continuing to the localization of the new Central Business District of the city. Consequently, that broad discussion carried out regarding the scope of redevelopment projects has been rooted in the possible introduction of diverse models of adaptive reuse. This variety of possible approaches also includes discussion on the mode of integrating heritage in the redevelopment processes. The goal of this paper—written just before the initiation of the final stage of the conceptual part of the project—is to present the complexity of approaches to issues related to redevelopment and heritage preservation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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19 pages, 12090 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transitional Morphologies and Urban Forms: Generation and Regeneration Processes—An Agenda

by Marco Trisciuoglio, Michela Barosio, Ana Ricchiardi, Zeynep Tulumen, Martina Crapolicchio and Rossella Gugliotta

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6233; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116233 - 01 Jun 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4131

Abstract

Grounded in the study of urban morphology, this position paper seeks to overcome the analysis of the permanent elements of a city in the search for a transitional paradigm in urban morphology, with the aim of grasping the dynamics of urban evolution and providing operative tools for the design of urban regeneration through an adaptive approach. Four actions for urban analysis are suggested here to highlight urban dynamics through the use of different tools: (a) sorting the transitional steps of urban morphologies (within rapid market processes), (b) underlining rules and processes that characterize urban coding in transitions, (c) mapping urban assemblages in an adaptive city, and (d) reading and representing the phenomenon of urban permutation. The results of this multifaceted and multidimensional set of analytical tools make it possible to outline a new paradigm for design thinking that moves towards a parametric approach to the urban design of cities in transition by broadening the extent of the urban regeneration process and supporting urban policies in the framework of a community-based approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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24 pages, 15651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adaptive Reuse Practices and Sustainable Urban Development: Perspectives of Innovation for European Historic Spa Towns

by Viola Fabi, Maria Pilar Vettori and Emilio Faroldi

Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5531; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105531 - 15 May 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3803

Abstract

Spa towns represented, for decades, a point of reference for the European panorama of health, tourism and cultural exchange. They have been the first tourist destination in the modern sense, as well as a manifesto for a renewed demand of quality and laboratories for architectural and urban experimentations. A product of territorial relations, they have been able to aggregate ideas, capital and skills in a generative logic. However, from the second half of the 20th Century, these cities underwent a series of structural changes related to health and tourism trends that deeply affected all levels of their local systems. Today, these places are witnessing numerous episodes of degradation and abandonment of their built cultural heritage. Promoting a place-based approach, this paper argues that spa towns could be reconsidered as strategic resources in the construction of the territorial capital and that adaptive reuse practices, if integrated into strategic visions, can represent a driver for the activation of a sustainability transition based on ‘fully circular’ processes. Here, the abandoned built cultural heritage represents an opportunity space, a potential catalyst of innovative synergies, and a meeting point between local and territorial interests. While referring both to theoretical profiles and applied research experiences, the paper frames urban transformation and adaptive reuse processes as an integrated challenge within change management logics. Finally, the paper proposes a set of thematic recommendations in order to stimulate the creation of receptive environments for change and deal with the different times, scales, actors and the economic and non-economic interests involved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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24 pages, 65629 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Sustainability of Regenerative Cafes Utilizing Idle Industrial Facilities in South Korea

by Jun-Sik Eom, Sung-Hoon Yoon and Dai-Whan An

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4784; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094784 - 24 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2644

Abstract

This study investigates the sustainable values of cafes established using idle industrial facilities that are a part of the cultural heritage of South Korea in terms of the characteristics of the architectural space and consumers’ space utilization. Twenty regenerative cafes in five regions were selected, and five of them were analyzed by comparing their characteristics with those of the conventional cafes. Unlike conventional cafes, regenerative cafes have architectural spaces that seem to be non-everyday and elicit a feeling of the passage of time. Users utilized these cafes as spaces for activities and experiences for long periods compared to conventional cafes. Consequently, regenerative cafes were found to contain sustainable values as complex networking spaces, as cultural heritage that can be experienced and as independent tourist destinations. Regenerative cafes have become unique differentiated architectural spaces utilized by several users. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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29 pages, 3090 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing the Cultural Heritage through Adaptive Reuse. A Multicriteria Approach to Evaluate the Castello Visconteo in Cusago (Italy)

by Marta Dell’Ovo, Federico Dell’Anna, Raffaella Simonelli and Leopoldo Sdino

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4440; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084440 - 15 Apr 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4192

Abstract

Cultural heritage can play a strategic role in developing a sustainable built environment, contributing to the improvement of the economic, social, and environmental productivity of a city. Human activities are constantly affecting the quality of the environment and altering the ecosystems, which produce negative consequences also on human wellbeing. Within this context, it has been much discussed how cities and the built environment can counteract this process by supporting more sustainable development. Adaptive reuse is defined as “a process that changes a disused or ineffective item into a new item that can be used for a different purpose”, which strongly triggers the sustainable development of cities. It can be recognized as a promoter of economic growth, social wellbeing, and environmental preservation, given its capability of both preserving past values and creating new ones. The adaptive reuse matches the main points of the circular economy, seen as the sustainable economy, which is aimed at the reduction of natural resource extraction and environmental impact by extending the useful life of materials and promoting recovery, reuse, and regeneration processes. Given these premises, the current contribution aimed to evaluate alternative scenarios for reuse in Castello Visconteo in Cusago, located in the Lombardy region (Italy), and understanding how adaptive reuse could contribute to generating new values within a circular economy perspective. In detail, four alternative scenarios were proposed to face the new needs born during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Since both intangible and tangible values must be considered, a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been applied by combining economic and qualitative indicators to define the most suitable function for its adaptive reuse. In detail, the Novel Approach to Imprecise Assessment and Decision Environments (NAIADE) was used to identify the best alternative solution based on the opinions of conflicting stakeholders. The innovativeness of the contribution is given by the combination of different methodologies, the preservation of the memory and the generation of new values, and the consideration of adaptive reuse as a strategy for the achievement of sustainable development within a circular economy perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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20 pages, 3914 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Creative Living Lab for the Adaptive Reuse of the Morticelli Church: The SSMOLL Project

by Maria Cerreta, Alessia Elefante and Ludovica La Rocca

Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10561; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410561 - 17 Dec 2020

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4318

Abstract

The international debate on the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage sites consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals has become increasingly important in the implementation of circular economy models for urban policies. The new values that characterize cultural assets, considered the result of a collaborative process, can enhance both manufactured and human capital, and provide the basis for a system of relationships that binds them. Furthermore, the values of historical artistic assets produced by community-based regeneration processes are particularly relevant when they characterize abandoned commons and cult buildings, to which communities attribute an identity and symbolic value. Starting from the definition of the concept of complex social value, we propose a methodological process that combines approaches and techniques typical of deliberative evaluations and collaborative decision-making processes. The aim is to identify the complex value chains generated by adaptive reuse, in which intrinsic values can play a driving role in the regeneration strategies of discarded cultural heritage. The experimentation, tested with the project “San Sebastiano del Monte dei Morti Living Lab” (SSMOLL), activates a creative and cultural Living Lab in the former Morticelli church, in the historic center of Salerno, in southern Italy. The reuse project is part of a more comprehensive process of social innovation and culture-led urban regeneration triggered in Salerno starting from SSMOLL. The partial results of the process show how a co-exploration phase has characterized the cultural characteristic of the living lab and how the co-evaluation of the individual activities orient the possible reuse scenarios. Finally, the results provide a first analysis of the relationship types activated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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17 pages, 599 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Heritage Management: Exploring Dimensions of Pull and Push Factors

by Hung-Ming Tu

Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 8219; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198219 - 06 Oct 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6525

Abstract

While determining sustainable heritage development, it is important to consider how heritage satisfies human needs. The purpose of this study is to explore the pull and push factors in heritage tourism. This study generated 38 initial items of pull factor and 18 initial items of push factor toward heritage tourism to assess the significance of items influencing people’s decision to visit heritage sites. The study obtained 332 valid questionnaires to implement exploratory factor analysis to capture the pull and push factors. Four pull factors with 15 items and 2 push factors with 9 items were extracted. The pull factors consisted of heritage architecture, art activity, wide nature, and regional attraction, while the push factors comprised recreational benefits and long-term values. The study suggests that the heritage’s outdoor environment should be planned through wide landscaping and natural elements, while art activities can be promoted to enhance attractiveness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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27 pages, 5201 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reuse of Vernacular Architecture in Minor Alpine Settlements: A Multi-Attribute Model for Sustainability Appraisal

by Carlo Antonio Stival, Raul Berto, Pierluigi Morano and Paolo Rosato

Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6562; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166562 - 13 Aug 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2863

Abstract

In the marginal areas of the Alps, there is a huge built heritage expressed by local communities, resulting in an architectural model that is sustainable in terms of its material use, resource exploitation, and landscape coherence. Although buildings in these small settlements have been largely protected from transformation, currently this heritage is largely underused. Thus, it is desirable to consider reuse and enhancement actions that can combine both economic viability and the protection of historic, cultural and architectural values. This paper presents a multi-attribute model for the evaluation of sustainability in reuse projects concerning traditional buildings in the Italian Alpine settlements. For the appraisal of sustainability, the model uses relevant parameters aggregated into three macro-indicators. The model was calibrated by an expert panel and tested on reuse projects in Sauris, in north-eastern Italy, where residential building type is characterized by specific techniques that are expressions of community traditions. The main results show that the attributes aggregation function is predominantly andness in all nodes. A short range in sustainability assessment is a predictable result, as the buildings used for the model’s application give a common judgment in some attributes. Finally, activities for widespread hospitality generate a greater expected return compared to commercial services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptive Reuse Processes: Bridging the Gap between Memory and New Values)

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